He lambasted Democrats for spending more money, even though none of the bills he cited have even been heard in committee, meaning that Democrats haven’t spent a penny. And some of the demon bills are sponsored by Republicans.

But all that fussing misses the point. The governor’s intention was to create a media stir that casts him as the guy who wants to cut taxes. And because he’s so damn entertaining and funny, it worked again.

This guy belongs on national TV, and it’s starting to look like that is more likely than a second term as governor.

Because no sane person would want to clean up the mess Christie has created. That’s right, this governor, the guy who keeps telling the world that he’s straightened up Jersey’s budget, has made it worse.

How has he done that? By following Jersey’s bipartisan tradition of kicking costs into the future. Christie Whitman did it. Jim McGreevey and Jon Corzine did it. And Christie is doing it, too.

Gov. Chris Christie tax cut tirade against Democrats:"I couldn't make this crap up"
Excerpts from a ten-minute tirade by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie against Democratic legislators who have argued the state cannot afford the tax cuts Christie has demanded. Christie recites a list of supplemental spending bills put forth by Democrats recently and vows to veto any such spending bills until Democrats agree the tax cut plan. Christie's comment came during a town hall meeting at the Elks Lodge in Lacey Township, the governor's 94th such town hall.

The dirty secret behind Christie’s pension reform is that it allowed the state to delay paying what is owed. That’s why New Jersey’s credit rating has dropped under Christie and why Wall Street is warning that it might drop again soon.

Yes, pension reform was needed. Public workers are paying more now and getting less. That’s no small thing.

But while the reform forced public workers to pay their full share right away, it allowed the state to phase in full payments over seven years. That bill rises from $1 billion this year to about $5 billion when fully phased in. And Christie is pushing transportation costs to the future, as well, to avoid raising the gas tax. The tax cut would come on top of that, at a cost of $1.4 billion after three years.

So these three items consume about 19 percent of the budget when fully phased in, compared to just under 5 percent in last year’s budget. Christie has no plan to cope with that.

But you can still see the tax-cut show. It’s funny and entertaining. And Christie’s shtick makes morbid political sense if his intention is to leave.

Why would he want to stick around to clean up this mess? Why not leave the stage while the crowd is still cheering? If all goes well, they’ll remember you as the guy who wanted to cut taxes.